Local SEO for accountants: a 20-minute check

Why this is worth 20 minutes

New clients rarely search for your firm by name. They type “tax accountant [town]”, “small business accountant near me”, “SMSF accountant” or “bookkeeper [town]”. Google, and the AI assistants that now answer those questions, have to work out from your public pages what you do, where you are and when you are open.

When we check accounting firm websites, the gaps are usually small and very fixable: a homepage title that is just the firm’s name, a main heading that says “Welcome” or a slogan instead of the service and town, no structured data telling search engines the firm’s address and hours, and no link to the firm’s Google listing. None of that needs a new website.

The 20-minute check

1. Read your homepage title and main heading. The title is the text in the browser tab and the blue line on your Google result. If it is only your firm’s name, a search engine has to guess the rest. A clear title looks like “Smith & Co — accountants and tax agents in [town]”. Then look at the biggest heading on the page. It should say, in plain words, what you do and where, and there should be one main heading rather than three.
2. Search the way a new client would. In a private or signed-out window, search “tax accountant [your town]”, “accountant near me” (while you are in the area) and one service you want more of, such as “SMSF accountant [town]” or “bookkeeping [town]”. Note who is named, and whether you are. Do it once; results vary, and one search is not a ranking report.
3. Check your Google Business Profile category and hours. Search your firm’s exact name and open the listing. The main category should match your core work (for example Accountant, Tax preparation service or Bookkeeping service), not something vague. If your hours change in tax time or over Christmas and January, set special hours so the listing does not say you are open when you are not. The name should be the name clients know, without extra keywords packed in (Google Business Profile guidelines).
4. Line up your name, address, phone and hours. Compare your website, your Google listing and any directory you still appear in. The spelling of the firm name, the street address, the phone number and the hours should be the same everywhere. If you have moved, merged or changed your phone system in the last few years, this is where old details tend to linger.
5. Give each main service its own page or section. If individual tax returns, business advisory, SMSF, bookkeeping or BAS work are real services, each should have a short, specific section that says who it is for, what is included and how to get started. A single “Services” list of bullet points gives search engines and AI tools very little to quote.
6. Add structured data for the firm. Structured data is a small block of code that tells search engines your firm’s name, address, phone, hours and website in a standard format. For accounting firms the matching type is AccountingService. Many firm websites have none, or only a generic “WebSite” block. Only include details that are also visible on the page, and keep them identical to your Google listing.
7. Link your website to your Google listing, and back. Put your address on the homepage or contact page with a link to the firm on Google Maps, and make sure the website field on your Google listing points to your real homepage. It is a small thing that makes the connection between the two unmistakable.
8. Look at your reviews, and how you ask for them. Note how many Google reviews you have, the date of the newest, and whether they have replies. Reply politely and never confirm client details in a reply. Do not buy reviews, write them yourself or offer anything for a rating; fake or incentivised reviews breach Google’s rules and Australian consumer law. Ask every client the same way, for example in the email that follows a lodgement.
9. Make sure search engines can read the site. Open yourwebsite.com.au/robots.txt. If you see Disallow: / under User-agent: *, msnbot or bingbot, you may be asking crawlers to stay away. Here is a 2-minute Bing check.

What this will not do

It will not guarantee a ranking, a set number of new clients, or that an AI assistant will recommend your firm. We do not sell those promises. It will tell you, in about 20 minutes, whether the public information about your firm is clear, accurate and consistent enough to be used.

Questions

Will this get my firm to the top of Google?

No, and we will not claim that. These checks remove common, fixable problems: a homepage that never says what you do or where, details that differ between your site and Google, no structured data, or a profile with the wrong category. Rankings are decided by Google, and nobody honest can promise them.

We are a small practice. Is this worth it?

Small and regional firms are where it matters most. Clients searching “tax accountant” with a town name are choosing between a handful of local firms, and the one whose website and Google listing clearly say what they do, where, and when they are open is easier to pick.

Should we add schema markup ourselves?

If your website builder lets you add code to the page head, yes. Use the AccountingService type from schema.org with your real name, address, phone, hours and website, and only include details that are also visible on the page. If you are not sure, ask your web provider, or we can write the code for you to hand over.

Can you do this for my firm?

Yes. A free Quick Look is one page, written, with three specific findings from your public website and listings. No call, no obligation, and we never ask for passwords. Paid packages, if you want the work done, list exactly what is included.

Written by the Pitch & Panel Team. We have no client case studies yet and we will not invent any. Sources: Google’s Business Profile guidelines and schema.org, linked above. This guide is about websites and listings, not accounting or tax advice.